A former LinkedIn VP who's hired 3,000 people says this is the biggest mistake young job-seekers often make

Steve CadiganDon’t get caught up with name recognition, says former LinkedIn VP Steve Cadigan.

When it comes to seeking out potential employers, name recognition isn’t everything.

Steve Cadigan, a former LinkedIn VP of Talent and founder of Cadigan Talent Ventures and digital business school ISDI, tells Business Insider that recent graduates are particularly susceptible to the desire to work for a big name company.

“I think a lot of times people get hesitant because they think, ‘Oh, how am I going to tell my friends that I’m working at some company no one’s ever heard of,'” he says. “‘I’ve got to have a shiny, flashy object.'”

He says that who you work for is far more important than where you work. That’s especially true when it comes to your long-term career development.

“Find an organisation that’s going to help you learn and grow,” he says. “Even in good companies, there are crappy leaders. In the bad companies, there are amazing leaders. The company’s brand and culture are important, but who you are working for is more important than anything.”

So, how can you go to work for the best people? First of all, figure out who you’ll be reporting to. Does that boss have a good number employees who’ve gone on to bigger and better things? If you can’t figure out your prospective manager, turn to the web for answers. What do Glassdoor reviewers or former employees say about their coworkers?

“The company you work for isn’t as important as who in the company you’re working for,” Cadigan says. “The people you work with are going to advocate for you in the company. They’re going to decide what work to assign you. That’s a really important element.”